Asda takes on John Lewis exec February 27, 2012 ASDA has poached John Lewis exec Richard Mayfield to fill the role of chief financial officer. Mayfield, director of partnership services at John Lewis, is to join the retail giant in the summer, replacing acting CFO Rob McWilliam, who is moving to parent firm Wal-Mart as a strategy director. Before working for John Lewis, Mayfield [...]
Digital spurs Pearson past expectations February 27, 2012 THIS will be the year that digital revenues overtake traditional sales at Pearson, which grew pre-tax profits 72 per cent on an unadjusted basis to £1.16bn in fiscal 2011. Pearson, the educational services group that owns Penguin and the Financial Times, beat market expectations and its own forecasts to report adjusted earnings per share of [...]
Perform wins further rights for South American football February 27, 2012 DIGITAL sports media group Perform has reinforced its position in South American football by extending its deal with rights agency Full Play Group. The three-and-a-half year partnership will add 900 South American football matches to Perform’s portfolio, including the top games in Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru as well as the Brazilian, Chilean and [...]
Global advertising spend to rise thanks to Olympics and Obama February 27, 2012 ADVERTISING spending is set to climb by 4.9 per cent to $465.5bn (£293.7bn) this year following a 3.8 per cent growth in 2011, according to Strategy Analytics. Although UK advertising will outperform Europe, it will likely lag behind the global rate as it is expected to rise 4.2 per cent to $20.9bn. But this will [...]
ROUTEMASTER RETURNS TO LONDON February 27, 2012 THE FIRST of a new fleet of London buses to draw inspiration from the classic Routemaster design hit the streets yesterday on the 38 route between Victoria and Hackney. The bus, built by Northern Irish group Wrightbus, is the first of eight prototypes expected to be in service by the end of May. London Mayor [...]
CBI: Service sector shows signs of life February 27, 2012 THE ECONOMY showed hints of recovery in the last three months, according to an influential survey of the vital services industry published today. Business volumes did fall in the quarter, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) services sector survey – but at a slower rate than in the previous three months. In consumer [...]
House prices down by one third in four years after inflation February 27, 2012 HOUSE prices in the UK have plummeted by a third, in real terms, since the middle of 2007, according to figures released this morning. Although prices declined by a modest one per cent last year, the overall drop since the credit crunch is even sharper than in Spain, where prices are down 27 per cent, [...]
Male non-executives are opposed to quota for women in boardroom February 27, 2012 CHAIRMEN and non-executive directors are strongly opposed to the idea of new quotas on the proportion of women in the boardroom, a survey revealed yesterday. Fewer than one in 18 chairmen believe a quota would be helpful, the survey claims, while seven in 10 directors say it would either make no difference to the firm’s [...]
REPORT: EU DRIVES UP FOOD PRICES February 27, 2012 The EU’s farming subsidies push up food prices and push down production, according to a report out today from the Institute for Economic Affairs. The Common Agricultural Policy’s budget stands at €55bn (£46.5bn) this year and is set to hit €63bn by 2020, supporting inefficient farms and increasing land prices, the IEA said. Picture: GETTY
Small firms cut hiring plans February 27, 2012 Most small firms will cut back on new jobs this year compared with last year, according to research out today from Huddlebuy. The survey found 59 per cent of small businesses expect to hire fewer staff in 2012 than 2011 and 36 per cent will not be creating any jobs at all. “The small business [...]